SentinelAngst

Mailing List
Name:	Sentinel Angst
Date(s):	1999-2019 (on June 24, 1999 the mailing list was moved to YahooGroups-present)
Moderated:	yes
Moderators/List Maintainers:	Lady Shelley, Lyn Townsend, Annie Booker
Founder(s):	DawnC
Type:	Gen
Fandom:	The Sentinel
URL:	https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/sentinelangst/info
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SentinelAngst was a gen mailing list/Yahoo Group focused in The Sentinel fandom.

As of April 2015, the list had almost 100 members. In past years, it had many, many more.

From their splashscreen:

This is a GEN discussion and fiction list for The Sentinel. You may not post slash or het works to the list, but slash and het may be discussed on the list (mildly) as long as it is labeled. Remember, this is also a discussion list, so general discussion about The Sentinel and personal tidbits about yourself are also allowed and encouraged. Content: G to NC-17, and you MUST be at least 17 to subscribe.

I created SentinelAngst (SA) to provide a steady stream of gen h/c or angst fanfiction. By requiring people to submit at least short fanfictions, SentinelAngst ensures that Sentinel fanfiction continues. SA has proven to be a prolific repository for gen fanfiction, and has helped ensure that all members have regular access to general Sentinel fanfiction.

The mailing list, at one point, held fanfic awards called the "The SentinelAngst Creative Endeavor Contest". A list of winners can be found here. Winners had the option of "receiving a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com or BN.com *or* $20 toward the purchase of a 'zine."

Regarding the Dues

The "dues" for this list was submitted fiction or art. These dues were carefully tracked.

The requirements:

Two-month increments beginning from your subscription date and continuing in blocks of time. It doesn't matter when during the two month period that you post a story because posting a story does not "reset" the clock. So, if you subbed on 6/25 then you must post your first story by 8/25/99. Your second "official" story must be posted between 8/25/99 and 10/25/99. If you post two stories between 8/25 and 10/25, you still need to do something "official" for the second block of time. That way, we can hopefully get a steady stream of fiction.

And, no, this deadline shouldn't cause you any great amount of angst *grin* If it does, well then just use that angst in your story. Work with it! LOL! This should be fun! If you find yourself short of time or with writer's block, just do a short snippet only a few lines long. J You can post in parts, just label it as a posting-in-parts. Any story started on the list should be completed in a timely manner. (Don't leave us hanging! We're addicts -- that would be just plain cruel!)

Remember, you can post a snippet, a story, a poem, or an original drawing. Angst, Smarm, or Hurt/Comfort must be present in the creative work.

An example of fanart dues by a members can be found viewed at: here. Also here: here and here.

In 1999, a fan in wrote about their inability to fulfill this requirement:

While I *love* the idea of The Sentinel-Angst List, and I applaud its creation; I have a slight problem with the requirements for being in it (no offense meant towards its founder/founders). Supposing a certain individual would absolutely *adore* to be able to partake of such type of stories (having a penchant for marathon angst reading), but is unable (due to own writing inadequacies, or a totally irrational, but extremely overwhelming (at times) fear of rejection, or both) to meet said writing requirements? That just leaves the individual interested in such a group *SOL*, and feeling (might I add) a sense of frustration at being unable to enjoy that particular type of story (albeit due to some inane personal psychosis from an outsiders point of view). Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke out my a**, and reading too much into it (although you try telling your subconscious that some time, and see how far you get *g*). Anybody know how to subscribe to Senfic? *LOL*

The list owner replied:

1) The dues should be no big deal b/c they only come about once every two months *and* they can be as *short* as you want it to be - just as long as the piece is complete. You can post in parts, but to count toward dues, it has to be complete. It can be a drabble only 15 words long (that's really short!), if you're really pressed for time. It can be a poem. It can be a drawing. It can be an original piece of computerized artwork - (i.e., cut and pasting different shots of the boys into an original piece). You can co-write and it'll still count! I mean, the requirements are as loose as loose can get. It just has to be angst or smarm related. :-)

2) Most of the fic is eventually posted elsewhere. In fact, I kind of like it when it is posted elsewhere b/c then I don't have to worry about archiving it. I, do, however, also like it when some things are exclusive b/c that acts as an incentive to us all on the list who post our dues. However, very few things end up being exclusive and those that are are usually pretty short :-) The exclusive things also act as a "safe" way for fledgings authors or experimental pieces to remain "in house."

Also, I make no requirements for the exclusive bits. If an author at first says something is to be exclusive to the angst list and a week or a month or a year later decides to post it generally, great! No problem. All I ask is the author drops me a note so that if I haven't already archived it, I don't archive it (no use giving myself more work than necessary). :-)

3) We are a gen list in terms of fiction, but SLASH may be mildly discussed. This is a point some people forget about the list. There's nothing graphically slash posted and no slash fiction posted to the list (though some URL's might come through - with warnings) but if someone uses the "S" word, we don't freak out :-)

4) We go up to and including NC-17, but most stuff is pretty darn mild :-)

Another fan remembers these dues, and how they were instrumental in propelling her on a long and prolific production as a fic writer. Fluterbev said:

I discovered another list a while after that, a list that purportedly had exclusive stories there written by some of my favourite writers – Jael Lyn, Dawn C and others. The list was Sentinel Angst. I needed to read that fic, I needed it like burning! But to do so I would have to pay ‘dues,’ ie a story of my own. Despite my reticence it was too tempting a prospect, I really wanted to read those stories! So I looked through the bits of fic that I’d been writing, trying to see if I could come up with anything that might not be too embarrassing to post. Having found something I thought I might be able to knock into shape I joined the list, intending to stay just long enough to get my sweaty paws on the locked stories. If all went to plan, I’d only have to come up with one story for my dues, then I’d be able to unsubscribe.

For my dues, I posted a short little missing scene for Cypher: I Can Be You Oo Oo. It was terrifying to post it; nerve-wracking and exhilarating, like jumping out of a plane. Despite the fact that I'd been scribbling stories down in notebooks compulsively since childhood, It was only the second story of my own that I’d ever shared with anyone in my life...

History

In August 2024, it was announced that Sentinel Angst would be moving to the Archive of Our Own as an Open Doors Project.